[ODUNEWS] January 18– The Gambia’s Vice President, Badara Alieu Joof, died of sickness in India on Wednesday, according to President Adama Barrow.
In 2022, Joof, 65, was appointed vice president of the West African country. From 2017 to 2022, he was the Education Minister.
Barrow stated on Twitter that Joof died “after a short illness,” but did not provide any other information, including when he died.
Fellow #Gambians, it is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing away of my #VicePresident, His Excellency, Badara Alieu Joof. The sad event took place in India after a short illness. May Allah grant him Jannahtul Firdawsi.
— President Barrow (@BarrowPresident) January 18, 2023
The vice president had left The Gambia around three weeks ago to seek medical treatment after not being seen in public for months.
Joof was Barrow’s fourth deputy since his historic victory against former strongman Yahya Jammeh in 2016 and swearing-in the following year, and his second since the president’s re-election in 2021.
The late vice president served in the Gambian civil service before joining the World Bank as an Education Specialist for West and Central Africa, where he gained skills that he later applied as minister of higher education, research, science, and technology.
